German Migration to Australia

An Immigration Discovery Centre Reference Sheet

The Immigration Discovery Centre has a variety of resources relating to German migration to Australia. On 9 September 2007, the Immigration Museum celebrated Victoria’s German community with ‘German Fest’, a cultural festival attended by over 2000 people.

A man in the baker's cart of S. Siebert, German BakerySource: Museum Victoria

To assist people with their research into their family history and German-Australian history and culture, the Immigration Discovery Centre staff prepared the following list of print and electronic resources.

Immigration Discovery Centre reference collections

Resources relating to the German community in Australia can be found in the Immigration Discovery Centre library. The library houses a diverse reference collection with a focus on migration, cultural diversity and Australian ethno-history.

I am trying to make a family tree but I need more information on my great grandfather his name was Theodore Victor Fankhauser he was the youngest of 10 children he was born 14th of march 1895 and died 1938 . His family owned an Orchard in Balwyn Victoria I know all his family members names and his parents but want more information about the family etc as my grandma has dementia so it's hard for me to find out more

To locate your family records you will need to contact the archives offices directly. Before 1923 each Australian state had its own office for keeping government records, including immigration records and passenger lists. There's a great list of these various archival bodies available online. Please note, if your ancestor arrived in Victoria prior to 1852, when Victoria was governed by New South Wales, these records are actually held by State Records of New South Wales! To search the Victorian records you will need to search the Public Records Office of Victoria.

Discovery Centre
3 March, 2012 09:43

Hi Lu-Loo,The first flush toilets on the European continent may have been the three "waterclosets" installed in the new town house of banker Nicolay August Andresen on 6 Kirkegaten in Christiania, insured in January 1859. The toilets were probably imported from England, as they were referred to by the English term "waterclosets" in the insurance ledger. You can read more on Wikipedia.

There is evidence for the existence of chicken on the European continent as far back as the 6th century BC. You can read more about the history of chicken at the following two websites, History for Kids and Food Timeline.

Hi Tori,The oldest bricks ever discovered date from before 7500 BC, so they have certainly been used in house-building for a long time! In the 12th century a type of brick architecture called Brick Gothic was popular in parts of Northern Germany. You can read more about it on Wikipedia.

Hi Jasmine, the list above is a list of resources that are available in the Immigration Discovery Centre. We are open from 10am until 4.30pm, 7 days a week, and the friendly staff and volunteers are more than willing to assist you with finding these books. And on the right hand side you will also find a number of useful links, many of which will assist you with your research.

I am looking for the arrival in Australia of Edward Adam Elias Schlichtwig and Auguste Sellberg or anything regarding the Schlichtwig family, also spelled Schlechtweg and variations on the theme. Thanks

Edward was probably Eduard Adam Elias Schlechtweg and Auguste was Augusta Zielberg. They were married in Myrtleford Victoria on 12 November 1861. They gave their usual address as Wagga Wagga, NSW where he was a quartz miner. Neither appear to have come through Victorian ports.

Discovery Centre
14 August, 2011 13:40

Hi Andreas. The first thing I'd suggest is to establish where in Melbourne the bakery was. You'll probably find it advertised in the local newspapers, which you can search these online at Trove. Once you know this you can look at directories, business records and images of the local area to find out more information. We had a similar question about pubs last year and wrote an article about it - some of the resources there should be relevant to your search. There may even be a local history of the suburb in which it was located that will give some information. You should also look to see if there's a relevant local history society that you can contact to obtain further ideas about researching the area.

Hi, I am looking for great-great grandfather Wilhelm Friedrich (William Frederick) Jakowski, who had a bakery in Melbourne between 1873 and 1889. Where can I find informations about this bakery? He had also land in Kangaroo Ground in the later years, may be more in parts nearby Melbourne.
Thanks to all!

Hi Michael, I noticed your replied back in 2011 on my ancestor Franz wehsack. I have since found out a lot on him but any other info would be terrific. where do your grandsons fit into our tree. Regards Kaye

Raylene Nagy
11 January, 2013 13:21

Hello Michael,
I am also trying to find more information on the Wehsack family, for an 85 yr old descendant of William. Anything would be appreciated. Trying to fit the pieces.

Discovery Centre
16 March, 2011 16:45

Hi Kaye. We suggest that you try the directories from that period to try and locate your ancestor. The Sands & Kenny Directory, which was first published in 1857, can be found at the State Library of Victoria and has commercial indexes that may help you to locate him. Also, you might try searching the National Library of Australia's Trove website. It's possible that his name or business is listed or advertised in the newspapers of the time.

Hi Lynette. This sounds like a bit of a puzzle. The only thing we can suggest for Bernard Fensling, since you know the exact date, is to view the microfiche of the original passenger lists for all the ships arriving on that date - if you haven't already done this. You can look at these at the State Library of Victoria, Public Record Office of Victoria or, possibly you're local library. Possibly his name was spelled incorrectly on the indexed record. The other possibility is that he was just not recorded. Sometimes unassisted passenger were simply not listed. For your other great grandfather, try alternative spellings or perhaps access his death certificate as this may reveal when and where he arrived. You may find that you have to try the passenger lists at other states' archives to locate his arrival. Again, it is possible that he was simply not recorded.

Hi, I am doing research on my Ancestor Franz Heinrich August Wehsack I know he arrived in Victoria on 26/12/1857. I know he owned property in Melbourne central ands he was a cabinet maker, does your Museum have any information on him his wifes name was Johanna Greip who arrived with him as well as I think his brother Johann August Heinrich Wehsack. Thank you.

Raylene Nagy
29 January, 2013 22:44

Hello, I am trying to find relatives of William Robert Wehsack, born Richmond in roughly 1905. He married Clara? McAlpine, but was also married to Iris Birtles in 1926. Any information on Wm Robert Wehsack would be appreciated.

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lynette thomas
14 March, 2011 14:35

I am looking for info on my g.grandfathers Bernard Fensling and Christian Kauiers. They are not common names, but I can't find them on any passenger lists. All I have is that Bernqard Fensling arrives in Victoria 15th October 1865 on the Anna of Jarmot according to his naturalization papers and nothig on Christian Kauiers. Where do I look?

Hi there mighty! Thanks for your suggestion. It is usually standard on websites to provide links to pages rather than URLs. As this is an online resource most people, including yourself, are generally reading this on the web. It's much simpler for people to click on a link than type in a url - particularly as many are long & complicated, with mistakes easily made if you're typing in the address. If you right click on the link and select 'properties' at the bottom you can see the full web address and copy & paste it if you wish.

Hi, This for Nicole Ruppel. The Conrad Ruppel that she is probably the one who was born in Germany in 1841 and died in Fitzroy South in 1913. His father was Philip Ruppel 1810-1873 and grandfather was Konrad Ruppel 1784-1868
I have a family tree if she wants it
Regards Peter Smith

While Australia is country of first world. Most one including German interested to migrate to Australia, me too. Anyway I am looking for some good resource about this issue I had some information from Australia migration Can anyone suggest me more how to get help really?

Hi Nicolle – To follow up your enquiry you will need to contact the archives offices directly. Before 1923 each Australian state had its own office for keeping government records, including immigration records and passenger lists. There's a great list of these various archival bodies available online. Please note, if your ancestor arrived in Victoria prior to 1852, when Victoria was governed by New South Wales, these records are actually held by State Records of News South Wales!

I'm researching my family history and have hit a roadblock. The earliest ancestor i can find is Conrad Ruppel (his marriage certificate stated he was born in germany) However i cant find him on any ship passenger lists. I did find a philip ruppel(arrived on commodore perry in 1857) who like conrad ruppel had a father named conrad ruppel. However i cant find anything concrete to link them. Were children not mentioned on any ship passenger lists?- i believe it is likely conrad ruppel arrived in australia as a child. Any help as to where i should go from here would be greatly appreciated.

To check if there were any migrants with the surname Althaus you could try the Public Records Office Victoria www.prov.vic.gov.au for migration to Victoria prior to 1923, or National Archives Australia www.naa.gov.au for migration to Australia after 1923.